A relieved Wiggins was ecstatic Friday night when talking about the recent change of events.

He had gone through a commitment to Tulane, which pulled...

]]>Fri, 9 Dec 2016 17:53:00 PSTFuture Gators Marco Wilson, James Houston celebrate American Heritage Class 5A crownChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-future-gators-marco-wilson-james-houston-celebrate-american-heritage-class-5a-crown-20161209-story.html
James Houston was running around the Camping World Stadium football field with his Class 5A state championship medal, biting it to make sure the moment was real.

He should already know how it feels. This is becoming standard, end-of-the-season protocol for Plantation American Heritage, which has...

]]>Fri, 9 Dec 2016 16:15:00 PSTUCF commit Otis Anderson finishes high school career with state title in OrlandoChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-ucf-commit-otis-anderson-finishes-high-school-career-with-state-title-in-orlando-20161209-story.html
It was the end of one era but a beginning to another for Jacksonville University Christian School running back Otis Anderson Jr., on Friday at Camping World Stadium.

Anderson finished off his high school football career by helping University to another Class 2A state championship in the same town...

]]>Fri, 9 Dec 2016 11:41:00 PSTCocoa seniors pass torch to next star Javian HawkinsChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-cocoa-seniors-pass-torch-to-next-star-javian-hawkins-20161209-story.html
Javian Hawkins isn't exactly a household name among the top college football prospects in Florida. His anonymity won't last long, however.

Hawkins burst on the scene this season as one of the go-to players for Cocoa High after transferring from Titusville Astronaut. He put an exclamation point...

The Cocoa High seniors, both of whom moved from Jones for their freshman years of high school, saw their Cocoa careers culminate in a Class 4A state title as the Tigers defeated Jacksonville Bolles 31-17.

...
]]>Thu, 8 Dec 2016 19:10:00 PSTState champ Pahokee loaded with young talent like Akeem DentChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-state-champ-pahokee-loaded-with-young-talent-like-akeem-dent-20161208-story.html
Pahokee football was finally back in what Blue Devils fans believe to be its rightful position Thursday after winning the Class 1A state championship game over Baker 34-21 at Camping World Stadium.

The Blue Devils had become a mainstay atop the Florida high school football world. They won five...

]]>Thu, 8 Dec 2016 13:33:00 PSTFSU commit Daniel Wright flips to AlabamaChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-fsu-commit-daniel-wright-flips-to-alabama-20161208-story.html
Florida State lost its second recruit of this recruiting cycle to Alabama on Thursday when Fort Lauderdale Boyd Anderson safety Daniel Wright flipped on his commitment to the Seminoles.

Wright announced via his Twitter account @_Wright3470 with a note that read, "Throughout this journey there has...

]]>Thu, 8 Dec 2016 13:58:00 PSTBruce Judson finally returns home to Citrus BowlChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-sp-hs-cocoa-bolles-qbs-1208-20161207-story.html
Bruce Judson Jr., left Orlando for Cocoa in 2013. He's been trying to get back to one particular locale in his hometown ever since.

Sure, the Cocoa High quarterback has returned to Orlando on numerous occasions, but not for his most earnest desire to return. On Thursday, he'll finally be back in...

]]>Wed, 7 Dec 2016 15:51:00 PSTUCF lands juco LB Gabe Luyanda from Garden City via Tampa KingChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-ucf-lands-juco-lb-gabe-luyanda-from-garden-city-via-tampa-king-20161207-story.html
Gabe Luyanda said UCF fans can expect a linebacker who "always fights, goes hard and never gives up," when he takes the field for the Knights next season.

]]>Wed, 7 Dec 2016 18:30:00 PSTWith Willie Taggart headed to Oregon, local USF commits unsure of futureChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-with-willie-taggart-headed-to-oregon-local-commits-unsure-of-future-20161207-story.html
With the announcement on Wednesday that USF football coach Willie Taggart will be headed to Oregon, several Bulls commitments are left to ponder their future.

Local recruits Bruce Judson Jr., Emare Hogan and Demetri Burch were not shocked by Wednesday's news, but all three are now left trying to...

]]>Wed, 7 Dec 2016 16:31:00 PSTWindermere OT Ryan Swoboda commits to VirginiaChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-windermere-ot-ryan-swoboda-commits-to-virginia-20161206-story.html
Windermere Prep offensive tackle Ryan Swoboda didn't plan on committing to Virginia when he took an official recruiting visit to the school this past weekend.

After the hospitality shown by the coaching staff and seeing what Virginia had to offer, however, the 6-foot-10, 265-pound Swoboda and his...

]]>Tue, 6 Dec 2016 19:02:00 PSTPlayers like Benny McCray IV, Jonathan Griffin-Heard hope all-star games help garner attentionChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-players-like-benny-mccray-jonathan-griffin-heard-hope-all-star-games-help-garner-attention-20161206-column.html
Some of the top high school football players in the Orlando area will get one more chance to prove they’re deserving of a coveted college football scholarship with a pair of all-star games in the coming week.

]]>Tue, 6 Dec 2016 08:30:00 PSTHey college coaches: Don't miss out on Dylan MeeksChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-dylan-meeks-dr-phillips-shrugs-off-lack-of-recruiting-attention-20161129-column.html
To his credit, Dylan Meeks doesn’t belabor the fact that he has few college football scholarship options.

He understands the cards he’s been dealt. Sitting out the entire regular season of your senior year can be detrimental to the hopes of any player seeking attention from college football recruiters.

...
]]>Tue, 29 Nov 2016 08:04:00 PSTGators commit DT Fred Hansard flips to Penn StateChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-gators-commit-dt-fred-hansard-flipes-to-penn-state-20161127-story.html
The Florida Gators lost a member of their 2017 football recruiting class when New Jersey defensive tackle Fred Hansard flipped his commitment from UF to Penn State after an official visit to Happy Valley on Saturday.

The 6-foot-3, 305-pound Hansard, of the Hun School in Princeton, N.J., had been...

]]>Sun, 27 Nov 2016 15:54:00 PSTCyrus Fagan among 7 official visitors for FSU game vs. FloridaChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-cyrus-fagan-official-recruiting-visitors-fsu-florida-20161126-story.html
FSU hosted seven official visitors among the recruiting guests at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday night, including a late addition to the list Cyrus Fagan, a safety out of Daytona Beach Mainland who is already committed to the Seminoles 2017 recruiting class.

Fagan finished up his Mainland career...

]]>Sat, 26 Nov 2016 18:08:00 PSTSanford Seminole QB Kaylan Wiggins picks up offer from FIUChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-sanford-seminole-qb-kaylan-wiggins-picks-up-offer-from-fiu-20161126-story.html
Kaylan Wiggins had just finished playing the best game of his high school career Friday night, and his father was well aware.

"Somebody has to give that boy a scholarship now, don't they?" said the elder Wiggins, an assistant coach at Sanford Seminole High.

The Seminole quarterback had just led...

]]>Sat, 26 Nov 2016 18:27:00 PSTSanford's Serderius Bryant set to play in Sunday's CFL Grey CupChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-sanford-s-serderius-bryant-set-to-play-in-sunday-s-cfl-grey-cup-20161125-story.html
Serderius Bryant told his grandmother Dorothy that he would one day play professional football.

"That's one thing that I wanted to do, and it's not the only reason that I do push myself," Bryant said, "but I also wanted to get out and do what I love to do and make money doing it.

He made two attempts...

]]>Fri, 25 Nov 2016 12:52:00 PSTTrace Christian won't be at UCF-USF, but Bulls are front-runnerChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-trace-christian-usf-bulls-front-runner-20161125-story.html
USF fans shouldn't read anything into Trace Christian's absence from Saturday's War on I-4 battle between the Bulls and UCF.

]]>Fri, 25 Nov 2016 11:27:00 PSTFSU commit DeMarco 'D.J.' Artis injures knee in Sanford victoryChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-fsu-commit-demarco-d-j-artis-injures-knee-in-sanford-victory-20161119-story.html
The Sanford Seminole High faithful can breathe a sigh of relief that an injury to star defensive end DeMarco "D.J." Artis appears to not be as bad as first thought.

Artis had to be helped off the field late in the Seminoles' 48-41 Class 8A region semifinal victory over Lake Brantley on Friday,...

]]>Sat, 19 Nov 2016 11:59:00 PSTSyracuse-bound Markenzy Pierre deserving of far more attentionChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-syracuse-bound-markenzy-pierre-deserving-of-far-more-attention-20161115-column.html
Every year there are numerous high school football players who are overlooked, under-recruited or just flat out ignored. It happens. It’s part of the landscape.

The recruiting saga of Markenzy Pierre, however, has been one of the most perplexing recruiting conundrums in recent memory.

Pierre, a...

]]>Tue, 15 Nov 2016 16:02:00 PSTJeremiah Zio of St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut commits to UCFChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-jeremiah-zio-of-st-petersburg-admiral-farragut-commits-to-ucf-20161113-story.html
The rumors were already circulating around Bright House Networks Stadium on Saturday that Jeremiah Zio would be the next commitment to the 2017 UCF football recruiting class.

The 6-foot-7, 225-pound defensive end our of St. Petersburg Admiral Faragut made clear his intentions Sunday, committing...

]]>Sun, 13 Nov 2016 15:26:00 PSTKnights commit OT Julio Castillo enjoys first game visit to UCFChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-knights-commit-ot-julio-castillo-enjoys-first-game-visit-to-ucf-20161113-story.html
Julio Castillo, a 2017 commit to the UCF football recruiting class, said Sunday he enjoyed his visit to campus for the Knights' victory over Cincinnati on Saturday.

"It wasn't my first visit to UCF, but it was my first time seeing a game and it was great," said Castillo, a 6-foot-6 330-pound offensive...

Who can really blame those people who tell the nearly 6-foot-10 offensive tackle that he should be concentrating his efforts on basketball. Swoboda, however, shrugs it off.

He knows what he wants to do and so pursuing a college football...

]]>Mon, 7 Nov 2016 21:59:00 PSTKenard Lang steps down as Oak Ridge football coachChris Hayshttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/florida-recruiting/os-kenard-lang-steps-down-as-oak-ridge-coach-citing-health-issues-20161107-story.html
Kenard Lang resigned as head football coach at Orlando Oak Ridge High on Monday, citing chronic back problems as the reason that led to his decision.

"I coached the last five games or so walking with a cane on the sideline," said Lang, who starred at Orlando Evans High School before going on to...